The term pantheistic Pagan may seem like an oxymoron until we look further at the definition of pantheism.

From Dictionary.com pantheism is:

The doctrine that God is the transcendent reality of which the material universe and human beings are only manifestations: it involves a denial of God's personality and expresses a tendency to identify God and nature.

In other words, God is all; God is nature; God is everything and everything is God. By this definition, God is not an anthropomorphized figure created in our image so that we can relate to him or her.

Organizations such as The World Pantheist Movement don't believe in a supernatural creator but the

"universe as the totality of being, past, present and future." They reject any supernatural figure had part in creation as creation itself carries its own "overwhelming power, beauty and fundamental mystery" able to "compel the deepest human reverence and wonder."

One of the oldest Neo-Pagan organizations, Church of All Worlds (CAW), appears to share a similar belief and state on their website:

"the nature of human being is an expression of Divine being. In recognition of this we greet and honor one another with the phrase Thou art God or Thou art Goddess."

CAW accepts members from any faith including monotheists who share their vision of humanity as an expression of the Divine. While strict pantheists may not agree that there is a divine being, they share the same sense of awe in the majesty of creation itself.

Pagans come from a vast community of varying beliefs. There are polytheists, duotheists, monotheists, pantheists and more. Pantheism reveres nature and the universe as the only real creative force. Paganism honors the cycles of nature as an expression of universal mysteries of life and death. A Pagan can choose to be a pantheist without compromising personal practice.

One of the most common ways this is done is by working with the archetype model of psychologist Carl Jung. In his theory, god and goddess archetypes are present in the collective unconscious of the human race. They represent primordial characters such as the hero, the mother and father, the maiden and so on that exist in the psyche of every person, thereby connecting us with each other no matter what culture we come from.

Some Pagans see the mythology of ancient cultures as vehicles for these archetypes, which is what they connect with in their rituals. The wheel of the year represents the cycles of nature. For them, the outward physical process of ritual mirrors the inner reaching of the mind to the collective unconscious reservoir of images which serves as a bridge between humanity and nature. These ideas blend well with New-Age universalist beliefs and is one reason why there has been such a large crossover between the New Age and Paganism.

Along side pantheism, there is panetheism - the notion that God is greater than the universe yet exists in every aspect of it. Pandeism is the belief that God came before the universe and created it, yet no longer takes part in it. Pagans of many stripes fall somewhere along the spectrum of these beliefs. These terms have changed over time and may still mean different things to different people as they have to philosophers over the ages.

Which brings us back to our original term of pantheistic Pagan. The idea of an impersonal creator is simply inconceivable for Pagans who don't identify as pantheists, which is why panetheism makes more sense to them. Some also reject the notion of archetypes as arrogant and believe deities do exist as separate entities from our own psyche.

Because of the many shades of gray that exist, labels are difficult to assign to an individual's religious belief or spirituality, not that we necessarily need them. Even with the multitude of named traditions, Pagans are notorious for rebelling against being pegged into one definition.

The terms themselves are still open to debate. They are presented merely as guideposts for those questioning where they fit in the larger scheme of Pagan thought. While labels don't define us in our entirety, they help us build a foundation from which to grow from and to better define ourselves.

Sources consulted:

• "pantheism." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 02 Nov. 2008. Dictionary.com
• "The WPM Belief Statement." Pantheism: The World Pantheist Movement. (cannot find date site was posted) (accessed 2008).
• "What is the Church of All Worlds." CAWeb. (cannot find date site was posted) (accessed 2008).
• "Pantheism." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. (page modified 2008). (accessed 2008).